Sealing device



[/0 710 1 W/lL/AW MESS/N626 Nov. '13; 1945. I w. MESSIFIG ER v 2,388,925

I SEALING DEVICE Filed Dec. 16,1942

FIGJI. Q I I Flg g ATTOEIYE'Y Patented Nov. 13, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE sEAL llzijrzvlcE I William Messinger, Philadelphia, Pa. I Application December 16, 1942, Serial No. 469.178 1 Claim. fleas-5)- This invention relates to sealing devices of the type which are adapted to engage a rotating member and form a packing which will not permit undesirable substances such as fluids or rease either to enter or leave compartments on one side or the other'of the sealing member. Thus, for instance, it may be desired to protect the bearings which support the rotating mem- 4 ber from the material which is being worked or rolled; or it may be desired to prevent water or other injurious substances from entering the bearing compartment while at the same time preventing the loss of lubricant from the compartment. Such sealing devices must befiexible to permit vibrations of the shaft to be taken up and at the sametime provide effective sealing means between the rotating element and the device and between the sealing device and the hearing casing in which it is housed. -Thus at alltimes the sealing device is efiective at its inner and outerv surfaces to provide an effective closure in spite of relative movements between the shaft and the bearing casing.

Various types of sealing devices. have heretofore been proposed, butaccording to the presprovide a sealing device in the form of a hollow J tubular member which may be provided on its periphery with apertures designed to cooperate with inlets through the bearing casing to permit fluid pressure to be applied to the interior of the V sealing device for more effective sealing.

This application is a continuation in part of my copending application Serial No. 331,709, filed April 26, 1940, now abandoned.

- to the bearing casing and the rotating element.

cut invention I provide a sealing device which may be formed of flexible material cast in a mold as a single, tubular, hollow member having inner, outer, andlside walls all formed in predetermined shape and of relative thicknesses so that each wall performs its special individual function. At the same time, the walls of the seal are so designed that they contribute toward the unitary end of yielding the maximum seal ing pressures at both the inner and outer surfaces. I

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a sealing device of the type described above which is designed to be positioned in the area between a bearing casing and a rotating element. The cross-sectional area oftheseabing device ismade of predetermined larger area than that between the bearing casing and the rotating element'so that insertion of the. sealing device will cause compression of the sealing device in such directions as to transmitthe forces to the inner and outer walls to yield more eflective sealing.

Furtherobiects and advantages of this invention will become apparent in the following detailed description thereof.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the sealing device showing its relationship with respect Fig. 2 is an enlarged section through the sealing device without peripheral aperture. v

Fig. 3 comprises a series of three diagrammatic sketches showing the theory of operation of the device.

Fig. 4 shows the tubular member of Fig. i removed from the casing.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown a rotating element it, which may be a shaft of any type, rotating within an opening in an annular .casing ll fixed within a housing 82. The casing Il may be substantially U-shaped in section with the arms of the U extending toward the rotating 3G element w and thus forming an annular chanthe sealing device is molded as a cylindrical sur- It is an additional object of thisinvention to provide a sealing device of the ype described wherein the side walls are substantially plane surfaces in perpendicular relation with the inner wall so that the device maybe fed into the openinginthe bearing casing.

.It is an additional object of this invention to nel within which the packing member or sealing device it is adapted to be positioned.

The sealing device it may take the form of a flexible, annular, hollow tube which may be cast in a mold and may comprise an inner wall it, an outer wall H, and side walls it- The outer wall it is designed to rest against the outer wall 20 of the bearing casing it while the side walls it are designed to rest against the side walls 25 of the bearing casing. ,The inner wall l@ of the sealing device is designed to engage the rotating element it. .Therefore the inside surface 22 of face adapted to engage the surface of the shaft it. 'I'hesides it have outer'plane surfaces 23, preferably perpendicularly disposed with respect to surface 22. By so disposing planes 23 with respect to surface 22 the interior of casing it need not be bored with any special angle with respect to the plane of the base 20 which would be the case if planes 23 had a sloping angle with respect to base 22, and which would require special machining. The surface 25 of the outer wall I! may be slightly curved outwardly. The intersections 28 between the plane surfaces 23 other.

and the cylindrical surface 22 are radiusrounded to .permit easy movement of the shaft relative to the seal and to permit the seal to ride over shoulders and other obstructions without damage.

The total area bounded by walls 22, 23 and 25, that is, the total cross-sectional area of the sealillg device I5, is normally somewhat greater than the total area bounded by the interior of the bearing casing and the rotating element II). This is shown in diagram 3A. The eifect of inserting the larger cross-sectional area of sealing device l5 between the bearing casing II and the rotating element is shown in diagrams 3B and 3C.

The effect or the lesser radial distance between wall 20 and the rotating element would normally tend to bow the side walls of the sealing device outwardly, but this outward movement is prevented by the side walls 2| 0! the bearing casing- As shown by the arrows 40 and 4| in Fig. 3B, the

lesser radial distance between the casing wall I Each of the walls of sealing device It is formed to perform a special individual function as well as a function in relation to the other walls. Thus, inner wall it is cast relatively thick, side walls It are of lesser thickness, while outer wall i1 is least thick. Wall I! is formed thickest be-' cause it must stand the greatest wear due to the relative rotation of shaft 10 therein, and also because by casting this wall sufllciently thick, a single casting may be bored to fit shafts of var- 'ious sizes within predetermined limits.

and the rotating element In produces forces between the outer wall of the sealing device and the outer wall 20 of the casing on the one hand, and between the inner wall Ii of the sealing device and the rotating element III on the This tends to effect sealing at the outer and inner meeting surfaces, which is, of course, the desired result. Further, the compression of the side walls l8 of the sealing device, by reason of the fact that the side walls 2| or the bearing casing will not permit the side walls of the sealing device to bow outwardly, will cause the transmission of forces, indicated by the additional arrows 42, 43 and 44, 45 in Fig. 30, also radially in both directions, thus further increasing the sealing pressures between the inner and outer walls of the sealing device and the rotating element and the outer wall of the bearing casing. Thus efl'ective scaling is accomplished between the. tubular member 15 and the rotating element It and bearing casing H.

It further internal pressure is desired over and above that which has been efl'ected by providing a larger original cross-sectional-area of sealing device l5 than the area between the interior of the bearing casing and the rotating element, provision may be made for connecting the hollow interior of the tubular member with a source of The side walls ll are cast less thick than inner wall IS in order that it may be sufllciently flexible to take up the vibrations of the shaft. At the same time walls It are sufliciently thick so that they will transmit the flexing stresses therein to the inner and outer walls, as shown in Fig. 3C.

The outer wall I! is cast thinnest in order that it may readily conform to the contour of outer wall!!! oi the bearin casing and form an efiective seal.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have herein described the principle and operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention can be carried out by other equivalentmeans. Also, while it is designed to use the various features and elements in the combination and relations described, some of these may be altered and others omitted with- U-shaped circular housing adapted to be secured Flgs. 1 and 4, an annular aperture 30 may be provided in the periphery of outer wall II which aperture may cooperate with any suitable aperture extending through the bearing casing l I and fixture I? to a source of fluid pressure.

to the casing, and a resilient packing ring disposed in the housing, the ring having an annular recess with a narrow entrance slot in its outer wall. the outer surface of the ring being slightly convex in its central portion and the outerdiameter of the ring being slightly greater than the inner diameter of the housing, the inner diameter of the ring being slightly less than the diameter of the shaft, so that when the seal is inserted in the housing a slight pressure is developed on the elements of the outer wall of the ring whereby a slight lateral pressure is developed for holding the side walls of the ring in close engagement with the housing and-for holding the inner surface of the ring in close engagement with the shaft. 4 WILLIAM MESSINGER. 

